Ongoing dispute in Valrico ends with one man run over

A Valrico man died Wednesday afternoon after he got into an argument with another man, ran after his vehicle and was run over, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.

Timothy Sanderson, 41, died after he was pinned under a van driven by Steven Stokes, 31, of Valrico, the sheriff’s office said.

Both men had argued over the past two weeks and confronted each other over several issues, including $14 that Sanderson said Stokes owed him, the sheriff’s office said.

At around 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, Stokes drove a 1999 Ford van to a neighborhood in a wooded area that sit at the end of Pine Street, the sheriff’s office said.

When Sanderson spotted Stokes outside his van, Sanderson approached him and the two men started to argue, the sheriff’s office said. Stokes got in his van and was trying to drive away when Sanderson punched Stokes in the face through the open driver’s side window, the sheriff’s office said.

When Stokes drove off, Sanderson ran after the van.

As Stokes slowly made his way through the dirt road and around the wooded area, Sanderson got in front of the van in an attempt to stop Stokes from driving off. Stokes couldn’t stop in time and ran over Sanderson, who was pulled underneath the van, the sheriff’s office said.

Sanderson died at the scene. Two neighbors who saw the incident corroborated Stokes’ story, and the two people in Stokes’ van also corroborated his story, the sheriff’s office said. No charges have been filed.